The Intimidator
Donald Trump just can’t let his loss in the 2020 election go.
You’d think retaking the White House in 2024 would have satisfied his urge for revenge, but clearly it did not.
There never has been any evidence of significant fraud in 2020.
Yet Trump has his Justice Department seeking the identities of thousands of poll workers in Fulton County, Georgia, a few months after seizing the ballots from the 2020 election there.
Why? The only feasible reason for this now is to harass and intimidate them, perhaps with an eye toward undermining this year’s midterm elections in the process.
It would be difficult to overestimate the amount of damage to our electoral system that Trump has already done by these and other actions.
He refused to concede his loss in 2020; instead he incited the mob to attack Congress on January 6th. And since regaining power, he’s pardoned all those responsible for that riot, further undermining our criminal justice system and rewarding criminals for their loyalty to him and his demonstrably false claims.
It is abundantly clear that Donald Trump wants to go down in history as the greatest U.S. President.
But many historians may consider him the worst.
*** In the California gubernatorial debate last night there was no clear winner but three of the seven — Democrats Matt Mahan and Antonio Villaraigosa and Republican Chad Bianco — looked out of their league.
The three remaining Democrats — Xavier Becerra, Katie Porter and Tom Steyer — and one Republican, Steve Hilton, performed relatively well. Porter and Steyer will probably split the progressive vote, while Becerra seems to be the “establishment” candidate, under fire from everyone else.
Hilton, who has Trump’s endorsement, may be one of the two finalists to emerge from the upcoming primary, when only two can move on to the general election this fall.
UPDATE : On the tomato plant mystery. This one is headed for a bad ending. On a rainy, windy overnight, the thief returned to make off with two more plants, leaving only one survivor from the original six. Unfortunately, the wind also knocked the camera over, so we have no footage of the crime.
HEADLINES:
Trump says Hormuz operation paused amid US, Tehran talks (Al Jazeera)
Iran has hit far more U.S. military assets than reported, satellite images show. (WP)
White House gave Iran private message before new Hormuz operation (Axios)
Trump keeps changing his timeline for ending the Iran war (WP)
US intelligence assessments indicate that the time Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon has not changed since last summer. (Reuters)
Trump Tries to Downplay Economic Effects of the Iran War (NYT)
Sherrod Brown wins Democratic Senate nomination in Ohio, setting up a key battleground race (NBC)
Seven state senators in Indiana who helped defeat Trump’s plan to redraw their state’s voting map last year faced Republican opponents endorsed by Trump — most were defeated. (WP)
Key moments from CNN’s California governor primary debate (CNN)
Republicans propose $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to secure Trump ballroom (NBC)
Is Todd Blanche Already a Worse Attorney General Than Pam Bondi? (Slate)
F.D.A. Blocked Publication of Research Finding Covid and Shingles Vaccines Were Safe (NYT)
Want more Black representatives? Elect more Democrats. (Silver Bulletin)
G.O.P. Proposes $1 Billion for Security Improvements in Ballroom Project (NYT)
16 days from momentum to meltdown in Canada-US trade talks (Politico)
Why Europe’s car industry is at the centre of a new US trade war (Al Jazeera)
Anthropic CEO warns of cyber ‘moment of danger’ as AI exposes thousands of vulnerabilities (CNBC)
Roomba inventor unveils a companion robot that’s more pet than helper (Mashable)
States across the wildfire-prone Western US are using AI for early detection (AP)
Anthropic and Wall Street Giants Join Forces to Create New A.I. Firm (NYT)
‘I have an A because I use Chat’: What UC students say about using AI — and whether it’s cheating (SFC)
Epidemiologists Confirm First Airborne Transmission Of Mar-A-Lago Face (Onion)
A very typical narcissistic trait!